


Unchangeable

by MadameBizarre



Category: The Dark Crystal (1982), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: I say vague but honestly hmmmmm, Mother-Son Relationship, Raunip has a crisis and goes out to party, Scene from volume one, The Dark Crystal Creation Myths, Unbeta'd, Vague mention of Raunip/Tavra from the comics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 02:37:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21292253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadameBizarre/pseuds/MadameBizarre
Summary: His mother charts the cosmos, and Raunip is left to ponder.
Kudos: 8





	Unchangeable

_ “Change is coming.” _

The words echoed from within, draping a heavy quilt of foreboding over his lanky frame. A simple statement, hardly a whole sentence, yet the excitement he felt was extinguished in a snap. His mother’s voice had been no help either, raspy and filled with ancient knowledge from beyond his years. If Aughra, Thra’s physical embodiment, mother of all, proclaimed it, so it would be. That did not mean anyone had to like it, even if anyone was only himself. What was there to change in the first place? Life was peaceful, yet full of adventure as Thra was continually growing. So much was out there to see, so much was perfectly fine in the now. Raunip not only detested the possibility of it being altered, but he feared it as questions overwhelmed him. What would it mean for  _ him _ ? 

A selfish thought, not without reason though. Sometimes he felt like Thra was not flowing through his veins as it did for it’s other children. When his mother began a chant and his own voice mingled around it, she would begin to move -- possessed by the power of their creator -- yet Raunip would not. Awe turned to confusion, confusion became jealousy, and finally jealousy gnarled into bitterness. Could it have been Aughra was the only one capable of truly feeling the rapture of Thra’s song, or was it merely him? Was there something off about him that could not allow Thra to guide his soul? Ridiculous to ponder, for his mother had assured him their home loved him every bit as she did --and she was Thra itself! She had seen the apprehension in his blue and green eyes, not as Mother Aughra, but as Aughra, mother to Raunip, and done what only a parent could: bring him comfort. Still, the endless anxieties lowered his mood, and his place beside the Crystal felt distant. The change brought his mother thrills, and him the exact opposite.

Across the plain laid the horizon littered with shabby homes of wood and stone, and tents of hide that were stripped with the utmost reverence. Under the final rays of the Last Brother’s descent, the homes were no more than dark figures, illuminated primarily by a great flame at the center. Even from his mother’s dwellings could the high songs of the Gelflings be heard, only to grow louder as Raunip made his way closer. Far more rambunctious than the steady chirps and trills of Thra’s other creatures, the noise no longer brought his mood up like it had earlier that day. Idly he kicked a rock, lone on the flat land of dirt like he felt, only when a voice called out to him did his head head raise.

“Raunip!” 

He had reached he Gelfling village where one could hardly hear over the cries of merriment and crackling of the large fire they danced around. Trotting towards him was a Gelfling woman, her white hair catching the vibrant orange and red hues from the fire, and her round, almond-shaped eyes sparkling and crinkling with glee. Her simple dress of leather flowed behind her, wild and free like the grin upon her round face. 

“Here, I saved you a spot by the fire.” She stopped shy of a little rock outcropping where her arms gestured. Grateful to finally rest since his storm of questions began, Raunip flashed her a smile.

“Thank you, Tavra.” 

That seemed enough for her as she awaited him to be near.“Let me bring you something to eat, you must be hungry.” 

Once more he thanked her but with a simple nod. He did not find agreement behind her words. His stomach felt like it was hollow, entirely non-existent despite being starving earlier. He did not stop her, instead watching her trot off towards tables of food that were so stacked, the small creatures would find a feat of their own after the festivities were over. Silence did not greet him though, instead he turned to the other who took the spot beside him.

“Sit, Raunip. And where is your mother?” The other male only nodded in greeting, having watched Tavra take the lead since Raunip’s arrival. 

Together they sat side by side, thighs brushing comfortably as his mind was still stirring. The mention of his mother did no help, only reminding him how it all started. “In her cave. She studies the stars and the sun.” And if the bitterness was obvious, Raunip gave no attempt to alleviate it, not even when Tavra placed a wooden slab of various foods before him. 

He spoke as she trotted off once more, beckoned by another to join them around the fire. 

“It’s a waste of time, worrying about things so far away.” 

“Aughra has wisdom beyond all our seeing,” The Gelfling spoke calm and measured, keeping his dark eyes on the mismatched ones. “If she says it’s important, then it is.”

If only he knew what else Aughra had said, but Raunip kept his mouth shut so their conversation would end. They revered his mother, only knowing her for the few hours she left the cave these days and witnessing the miracles she brought. No one knew the Aughra he did, not his mother who would read him bedtime stories as a kid, but the Aughra who would sit at her desk for days on end without eating and muttering like a madwoman over charts of stars. If only they knew how discontent she was with Thra now that all was at peace -- would they be hurt like he was? He would not tell them in the end, no matter how upset he was. Even as he watched them lose themselves around the fire, a scene that would have sent him scurrying to create mischief and trouble by letting these secrets be gossiped about out of his personal jealousy, he did not. 

The Gelflings continued to dance around the crackling flames without a care in the world and he continued to watch long after his male companion left to join them. Their bodies dark silhouettes, some clothed, others bare to the point of being as free as the less-sentient creatures of Thra. Somewhere drums pounded out a tune everyone knew, one that could make even the stiffest of beings sway. And there sat Raunip, Drooped over his crossed legs with only his hands to keep his head up. It was beautiful watching his friends laugh and let the power of Thra lead their bodies into a dance he had never seen. One so raw no one would remember the movements come sunrise. It would have brought bitterness back to his heart -- especially as the memories of his mother’s own dances joined the scene -- however the emotion never came. All he could think of was  _ change _ . Once this prophecy came, what would become of the beloved Gelflings?

“What is it, Raunip? You’ve barely touched your food.”

Leaning to the opposite side so his other hand was free to poke at his unstirred assortment of food, he absently spoke. “Mother... ** _Aughra_ ** ,” he rememied, for it was odd to call her such to the Gelflings. “...Speaks of change. That soon things will be different.”

With Tavra it felt so natural to vent his worries, unlike moments ago with the other, or even his mother, but the latter was a given as mother and son. The Gelfling’s gaze washed over him, bringing a casual air in the personal bubble that surrounded just the two of them. If he wanted to stop, Raunip believed it would not be in his power to.

“I’m worried Tavra, I don’t want things to change.” He wanted to continue the feasts with the Gelflings; he wanted to continue singing with all of Thra for bountiful seasons; to continue walking all over their home with his mother, ready to help Thra’s children.

“There is no cause to fret, Raunip. Let the skies change as they will. What could change our happy lives?”

He wanted to continue seeing Tavra and her carefree smile and the mischievous glint in her eyes that rivaled only his own like they had for the past twenty-something years.

“Come! it is time to sing.”

And when he lifted his mismatched gaze to her own where the fire seemed to be blaze within, Raunip finally smiled. He took her small soft hands in his own gangly claws, struck by awe as she hauled him up like it were nothing, and off they went. Together they ran, Tavra leading him towards the fire, pulling him into the dance. Her voice rose high above the others until his own joined it, ignoring that he knew nothing of the song. That melted away as he focused solely on her, then the fire, and finally their friends. It did not matter that he could not feel Thra at times, or that he had started singing off-key and the only reason he could keep up with their dancing was because Tavra was holding both his hands. Soon enough he was lost within the festivities, all of Thra becoming a blur, and he scarcely noticed he was not relying on her to keep up, or that his voice had become steady and in-sync. The vibrations echoing through their chests and feet, the whipping of Tavra’s hair, the heat burning through their skins from the fiery embers. It continued deep into the night, at one point away from the village center as the duo left to find further fun within the woods. Bark scratching under his fingertips, Tavra’s rambunctious laughter as she jumped off with a splash, forgotten shoes they would fail to ever find, flower petals tangled in their hair. 

In the morning he’d wonder why he had ever been so worried, curled around his friend under the First Brother’s seeping light deep amongst the towering trees. And later he would remember, only to cling to the carefree moment in the last few days of the Age of Harmony


End file.
